Like all dedicated collectors and bibliophiles, the author longs to show to
the world the fruits of his work, especially in order to spot the gaps and
fill them. CROQUET WORLD is glad to support David Drazin's pioneering effort
to track down and identify them all. The "Checklist of Croquet Books and
Pamphlets" presented here for the first time already runs to an astonishing
twenty pages or so, beginning with the first appearance of croquet in England
in the middle of the 19th Century and ending in the 1990's. Can you spot a
gap?

This feature is targeted at book freaks of all sorts - readers,
collectors, dealers, know-alls who can't resist an opportunity to expose gaps
in an old hand's expertise, and anyone interested in trading unwanted
materiel for ready money.

I have been smitten by the croquet book bug for some years. I collect them,
I am compiling a bibliography for publication, and I trade in a small way.
In pursuing these activities, I have come by lots of information I would
like to share with like minds. If this looks like your scene, read on.

The croquet literature of the world

Volume One of my bibliography, which I want to have in print next year, will
deal with croquet books and pamphlets - i.e., works about the game or which
at least refer to it on the title page. All those I have identified to date
are set out in the accompanying Checklist, culled from innumerable sources,
notably including the online systems of institutional libraries throughout
the world.

If you know of anything I have missed, I would dearly like to hear from you -
by E-mail to: d.drazin@dial.pipex.com.

If you are skilled in netsurfing online systems and can spare a little time
to expose bigger gaps in my repertoire, I would greatly value your efforts,
whether or not productive. The keyword is simply 'croquet'. Though I have
already searched many of the national, state, and university collections, I
haven't really done much more than scratch the surface. In particular, for
want of language skills, I haven't made much headway in continental Europe,
Asia, or the Pacific Rim.

It is not clear why Leonard Williams chose this particular image for his
stolid 1899 treatise entitled "CROQUET." Perhaps he wanted something light
to enliven his own prosaic style; it is possible that, brainwashed by art
nouveau, he saw it simply as a tasteful piece of art in modern idiom. Either
way, it has stirred the croquet world ever since in numerous recyclings,
notably by Stephen Potter in his 1947 classic, 'GAMESMANSHIP' (the art of
winning games without actually cheating); and as the front cover of the
Winter 1970 issue of the British CROQUET GAZETTE. Along the way, it picked
up a cool nickname, 'The Rape of
Roquetetta'. (Don't worry about tripping over all those 't's; the first is
silent.)

Croquet books wanted and for sale

I have found collecting and the practice of bibliography to be great
bedfellows. Having copies of the books I need to examine makes it easy to do
so, and knowing what there is to collect helps in spotting buying
opportunities. Over the years I have acquired quite a lot of surplus stock.
I usually have dozens of old titles for sale, plus a few new ones which I
distribute to active writers in various parts of the globe. And since there
are still yawning gaps in my collection, I have a huge wants list. So I am
always interested in hearing from those who have croquet books for sale or
who want to add to their own collections. Either way, E-mail (to my address
above) is the gateway.

What next?

I intend to update this online feature twice yearly, and to provide new
angles on old croquet books of interest to CROQUET WORLD ONLINE MAGAZINE
visitors. When Volume One of my bibliography (specialist books and
pamphlets) is in print, I shall turn to the periodical literature and all
sorts of other books - fiction as well as non-fiction - which refer to the
game. Then will be the time to extend the Checklist in these directions.
Meantime, any idea you may have as to how this feature might be developed as
a vehicle to exchange information about croquet literature would be very
welcome. Contact the editor of CROQUET WORLD ONLINE or me.

[David Drazin's CROQUET: A CHECKLIST OF SPECIALIST BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS is
introduced here online in several parts, in date order of publication. Click
here to access the
Explanatory Notes and Author's Index.]